Coca Cola opens £30m automated store and John Lewis start work on new hub

Coca-Cola Enterprises has opened a £30m automated warehouse at its soft drinks factory in Outwood, Wakefield. The facility was officially opened by shadow chancellor Ed Balls who is the local MP.

The new 34-metre high facility has been designed to hold and automatically move up to 30,000 pallets, doubling the overall site storage capacity and it has been fitted out with an automated storage and retrieval system.

The company said the new facility would allow all manufactured products to be delivered to customers directly, and in turn save some 500,000 road miles a year.

Coca Cola Enterprises is celebrating its 25th anniversary at Wakefield. It reckons it has invested £100m in the site.

Further investment in Wakefield will include the introduction of a combined heat and power system at the factory, and the development of a new production line.

Meanwhile, John Lewis has begun construction of its new 50,000 sq ft customer delivery hub at Solihull Business Park,. When completed, the facility will act as John Lewis first new-style regional customer delivery hub, supporting omni- channel orders through- out Birmingham and the West Midlands.